In this slides you can see that What is family conflict in Long Day's Journey into Night.In the play also characters are addicted from alcohol or drugs.

1. Family conflict in ‘Long
day’s Journey into Night’
-Eugene O’Neil

2. Smt.S.B.Gardi Department of English
Name :- Riddhi H. Rathod
Presentation Topic :- Family conflict in ‘Long day’s
Journey into Night’
Paper No. :- 108 – American Literature
M.A. Sem. :- 2
Enrollment No. :- 4069206420220025
Roll No. :- 17

3. Points to be ponder:-
INTRODUCTION (PLAYWRIGHT & PLAY)
CRITICAL THEORY
FAMILY CONFLICT
CONCLUSION

4. INTRODUCTION:-
Eugene O’Neil
Born:-16 October, 1888
Died:-27 November, 1953
Eugene Gladstone O’Neil was an American
playwright awarded the 1936 Noble Prize in
Literature. His poetically titled plays were among
the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama
techniques of realism, earlier associated with
Russian playwright Anton Chekhov.
Beyond the Horizon (1920), Anna Christie (1922),
Strange Interlude (1928), Ah! Wilderness (1933),
The Iceman Cometh (1946).

5. C
Conflict Theory:-
Conflict is a basic fact of social life. Competing sets of interest contribute to the
dynamic nature of social life, which, in turn, causes conflict and induces social
interaction. In any given society, each person pursues his or her individual social
interests. The family, much like any other social unit, demonstrates among its
members the same competing interests observed in other social groups in society.
The play is founded upon endless conflict. The father, James Tyrone, is a miserly man who seems to have failed everyone
in the family, including his wife, Mary. After giving birth to their son, Edmund, Mary is in great pain, and James sends her to
“an ignorant quack of a cheap hotel doctor” because he is inexpensive. The doctor prescribes Mary morphine, and she
ultimately becomes addicted to it. James also fails in his marriage to Mary because he is always away from home and
drinks too much. In addition , James fails his younger son, Edmund, in sending him to a cheap, second-rate sanatorium
rather than to a more expensive venue when he is diagnosed with TB. Edmund rails against his father, “But to think when
it’s a question of your son having consumption , you can show yourself before the whole town as such a stinking old
tightwad”. He also fails his older son Jamie, by turning him into a drunkard. This becomes obvious when Mary tells him
“Since he first opened his eyes, he’s seen you drinking , always a bottle on the bureau in the cheap hotel rooms. And if he
had a nightmare when he was little or a stomachache, your remedy was to give him a teaspoonful of whiskey to quiet
him”.
Family Conflict:-

6. Conflict caused by Jealousy between Parents:-
Finally, this conflict develops into a jealous rivalry between Mary and James wit regard to their children. Mary says “ I know
why he wants to send you to a sanatorium….to take away from me! He’s always tried to do that. He’s been jealous of
every one of my babies! He kept finding ways to make me leave them. That’s what caused Eugene’s death. He’s been
jealous of you most of all. He knew I loved you best”.
Conflict caused by Jealousy between Siblings:-
From a different perspective, James faults Jamie for corrupting Edmund in being “the wrost
I influence on him”. Jamie admits to Edmund , “Mom and Pop are right. I’ve been rotten
Influence. And the worst of it is, I did it on purpose… to make a bum of you… Never
w wanted you to succeed and make me look even worse by comparison. Wanted you to
Al fail. Always jealous of you.”

7. Conflict within the Mother:
The conflicting nature of the family members is also evident in the mother’s self-monologue and resignation to
her drug addiction. When James and her sons leave the house, she calls out, “Goodbye..(She thinks) it’s so
lonely here…You’re lying to yourself again . You wanted to get rid of them. Their contempt and disgust aren’t
Pleasant company. You’re glad they are gone. Then, Mother of God, why do I feel so lonely?. In a sense, this is
characteristic of family life, but it is hidden. A motif of fog persists throughout the play and function as a hiding
place for Mary that represents an internal rather than external condition.

8. Conclusion:-
The play ultimately alludes to the idea that we have to accept the things in our lives that we
cannot change. Regardless of the bitterness and blame that permeates the family’s
dialogue , each of the family member is emotionally invested in and dependent on
one another.

9. Citation:-
Al-Lehaibi, Majed S. "Family conflict theory in O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into
Night." International Journal 3.1 (2015): 88-90.
Lachmann, Frank M., and Annette Lachmann. "Mary Tyrone’s Long Day’s
Journey into Night." The Annual of Psychoanalysis, V. 20 20 (2013): 235.
Bloom, Harold, and Eugene O'Neill. "Long Day's Journey into Night." (2000):
192.

10. Thank you!